I WAS 16 YEARS OLD WHEN I WATCHED my first World Cup, in 2010. It was unlike anything I'd ever seen before. When Landon Donovan scored the goal against Algeria that sent us through to the knock-out rounds, I jumped and screamed at the TV. No other sport had ever made me feel like that. It made me fall in love with the game.
After that, I enjoyed playing football. The fact that I started playing at 16 and have made it as far as I have as the goalkeeper for Arsenal [currently the top team in the English Premier League], and for the U.S. team in the upcoming World Cup-is pretty rare. It shows that anything is possible if you're willing to learn.
When the U.S. team failed to qualify in 2017, I felt so far away from the national team picture that I was more of a fan than a player. Obviously I was sad and couldn't believe that it had happened, but it ended up being the biggest opportunity for me. I didn't have experience playing at the international level, but when the new coaches came in, they were willing to give anybody a chance-and I ended.
up being one of those "anybodies." But I found it hard to feel like I belonged at camp in the qualifying window. I was talking to guys at some of the biggest clubs in the world, while I was playing for the New England Revolution. I didn't feel like I had the right to share the field with some of these guys. That was really challenging to overcome.
I started earning the respect of my teammates after spending more time together, training and from the way I played in games. After my transfer to Arsenal earlier this year, I felt like I came into my own. I showed more of my personality on and off the field in the last two qualifying windo in June and September. I don't think the transfer was necessary for me to feel more secure in who I was on the pitch, but it definitely helped. It made me feel like I had more credibility with those guys.
Denne historien er fra December 02 - 09, 2022 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek US.
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Denne historien er fra December 02 - 09, 2022 (Double Issue)-utgaven av Newsweek US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Can Alternative Therapies Treat Cancer?
Doctor and breast cancer survivor Liz O'Riordan addresses misinformation around managing the disease
Falling for Romance
A new book, Nora Ephron at the Movies, celebrates the writer/director best known for her iconic rom-coms and strong female characters
Cracking the Norse Code
Walrus DNA has shown that Vikings were likely the first to have encountered Indigenous North Americans
Monumental Shift
The discovery of 165-million-year-old crystals Easter Island has upended the longheld notion of how the Earth's \"conveyor belt\" moves
'OUR FOREIGN POLICY AND DOMESTIC REFORMS ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN'
It is a well-known fact across the globe that the North Korean regime is irrational and unpredictable, but we have been consistent in strengthening our defense posture against the threat from North Korea since the Korean War, and I believe that their conventional capability is much inferior to that of the Korean military.
'They Read My Eulogy As I Lay in an Open Grave'
Like Paris Hilton, Natasia Pelowski claims she was subjected to abuse at a teenage therapy program
Russian Economy Faces 'Burnout
Vladimir Putin admits difficulties” as the country’s key interest rate reaches a historic high
China's 'Silent Chemical War'
The U.S. must investigate Beijing's role in the manufacturing of fentanyl that is killing Americans, says one mom whose daughter died after accidentally taking the illicit substance
HARSH HEADWINDS
President Yoon Suk Yeol's BATTLE to reform a South Korea beset with structural problems under the specter of an increasingly aggressive neighbor to THE NORTH
Bridget Everett
BRIDGET EVERETT NEVER THOUGHT SHE'D BE THE LEAD OF A TV SHOW. \"I come from the downtown world in New York, a cabaret singer, and these things just don't happen, you don't find yourself with three seasons of HBO.
